In this week’s Economist/YouGov poll:

Plus polling on federal spending, wealth inequality, the stock market, the U.S. economy, jobs, immigration, and whether the current moment in American politics is a significant turning point.

  • 62% of Americans — including 72% of Democrats and 59% of Republicans — believe that the current moment feels like a significant turning point in American politics
  • In what areas do Americans think federal spending should be increased? 75% say veterans, 65% say education, 57% say the environment, 39% say national defense, and 26% say foreign aid
  • 57% of Americans say the government should pursue policies that try to reduce the gap in wealth between the richest and poorest Americans; 21% think it should not do so
  • Americans are divided on the stock market: 25% say it is a good time to invest and 25% say it is a bad time. Half (50%) of people aren't sure
  • 41% of Americans believe the U.S. is currently in a recession and an additional 20% believe a recession is very or somewhat likely to occur in the next 12 months
  • 59% of Americans who are employed are happy with their jobs. College graduates are somewhat more likely to be happy than non-college-graduates (65% vs. 53%)

See the toplines and crosstabs for the July 3 - 6, 2026 Economist/YouGov Poll

Methodology: The poll was conducted among 1,603 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of U.S. adult citizens. A random sample (stratified by gender, age, race, education, geographic region, and voter registration) was selected from the 2019 American Community Survey. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, geographic region, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 33% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 3.3%.

Image: Getty (Tom Brenner / Stringer)

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